Three keys to interior prayer

THREE KEYS TO THE TREASURE OF INNER PRAYER, TAKEN FROM THE SPIRITUAL TREASURES OF THE HOLY FATHERS

I have hidden Your words in my heart. Ps. 118:11 It is fitting for the mind to strive in every way to strive upward. Callistus of Cataphighiot, c. 19

If each person has his own unique qualities, inclinations, and gifts, then the attainment of a certain goal is accomplished in various ways, with various means, which lead to it. Likewise, the attainment of the goal of the work of interior prayer is accomplished in several ways that lead to it, as we read in the writings of the Holy Fathers.

Some of these means, suitable both for success in prayer and for success in Christian life, are: "unconditional obedience", as Saint Symeon the New Theologian says ; "the labors of virtues and struggles", as the Church voices in her hymns: "...You have found a work, inspired by God, to the elevation of the gaze..." (tropar of the holy martyr); external prayer for internal prayer:

Lord, teach us to pray (Luke 11:1); certain works of grace, as we see, for example, in Saint Maximus of Cavsocalivites, who, once kissing the icon of the Mother of God, after two years of insistently calling upon her in prayer, suddenly felt sweetness and warmth pouring into his heart; or to the young George (later Saint Symeon the New Theologian), who, during his usual prayer, suddenly saw an inner light and acquired the ceaseless, self-working prayer, and so on.
There are, however, other essential means for achieving the goal of interior prayer, which are directly related to it. Three such means, as we learn from the Holy Fathers, are:
1) Frequent repetition of the invocation of the name of Jesus Christ;
2) Heeding this call and
3) Entering within ourselves, or, as the Church Fathers say, the mind entering the heart.

Since these means open to us much more quickly and easily the kingdom of God within us and discover the treasure of spiritual prayer within our hearts, it is very appropriate to call them keys to this treasury of treasure.

The First Key
Just as quantity leads to quality, so too the frequent, almost incessant invocation of the name of Jesus Christ, even if scattered at first, can lead to mindfulness and warmth of heart, because human nature can acquire a certain state through frequent repetition and habit. “To learn to do something well, you must do it very often,” said a spiritual writer, and Saint Hesychius says that “frequentness gives birth to habit and is transformed into nature” (ch. 7).

This, as can be seen from the observations of skilled spiritual fathers, applies to the case of interior prayer as follows: the one who wants to reach interior prayer decides to call often, almost incessantly, on the name of God, that is, to utter with his mouth the prayer of Jesus: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!".

Not worrying if at first this invocation will be polluted by thoughts and laziness, he calls first out loud, and when his throat becomes tired, in a whisper, and then only in thought, as St. Dorothy advises. Also, sometimes he says all the words of the prayer, that is, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”, sometimes briefly, that is, “ Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, ” as St. Gregory of Sinai teaches. He says of the short invocation that it is easier for the beginner, however, he does not reject either one or the other, advising only that the form of the prayer should not be changed often, so that the supplicant may more easily get used to the invocation. And in order to be even more strongly encouraged towards the unceasing work of prayer, the one who becomes accustomed to it sets as his rule, in terms of time, to call out a certain number of times, that is, to say so many hundreds or thousands of prayers with the prayer book in a day and a night, not hurriedly, but distinctly, forcing the tongue and lips.

After a certain time, the lips and tongue, exercising themselves, acquire such a habit and even automatism that from now on they will move of their own accord, without any special effort, towards pronouncing the name of God, even without a voice. Further, the mind will also pay attention to this movement of the tongue, and gradually it will be cleansed of distraction and will be attentive to prayer. Finally, the descent of the mind into the heart may also follow, as the Fathers express it, that is, the mind, returning to the heart, will be warmed by the warmth of divine love, and the very heart, without compulsion, freely, with unspeakable sweetness, will call upon the name of Jesus Christ and will pour out humbly before God without ceasing, according to what is said: I sleep, but my heart watches (Song of Songs 5:2).

Saint Hesychius spoke beautifully about the fruitfulness of the frequent invocation of the name of Jesus Christ: "For just as the rain, the more it falls on the earth, the more it softens the earth, so the name of Christ, the more we call upon it, makes the earth of our heart joyful and gladdens it" (ch. 41).

Although the means shown, based on the experience and observations of the Holy Fathers, is sufficient for a suitable guidance to achieve the desired goals of interior prayer, there are still other higher means, such as: attention and the entry of the mind into the heart. This first means is mainly suitable for those who have not yet become accustomed to attention and are not yet able to exert themselves on the heart, or it can be an introduction to the next means. In fact, depending on the qualities and possibilities, each one should choose what is most useful to him, as Nicephorus the Monk says.

The Second Key
"Attention is the guard of the mind" - as Nicephorus said from solitude or: attention is the gathering of the mind within itself and its immersion in a certain subject together with the abandonment of all thoughts and imaginations of a different nature. Saints Callistus and Ignatius assure us about how necessary this is for prayer, quoting the words of the Venerable Nilus, that "attention, seeking prayer, will immediately find it: for prayer follows attention more than any other thing, therefore it is fitting for us to strive for it" (c. 24).

Similarly, Saint Hesychius writes: “The more attentive you are to your mind, the more you will pray to Christ with longing” (c. 90). And again: “The air of the heart is filled with joy and peace from perfect attentiveness” (c. 91), which is “as indispensable to prayer as the wick is to the light of a candle” (c. 102).

Likewise, Nicephorus the Monk, after presenting the teaching on interior prayer, concludes at the end that if it is not easy to enter the heart by the path shown by him, then all possible attention must be used in prayer, which, without any doubt, will open the entrance to the heart and increase interior prayer, which, as he assures, is known from experience. And Holy Scripture reinforces this truth, that without attention it is not possible to unite with God, saying: be busy (in other translations of Scripture: stop. In fact, the word translated has the meaning of: “be still”, “cease to be agitated”, “leave other occupations”, “dedicate yourself entirely”) and know that I am God (Ps. 45:10).

Thus, he who wants to reach interior prayer through the path of attention must, as far as possible, maintain solitude; he must avoid conversations with people; he must pray without haste and not in a hurry, but with some pause; he must immerse his mind in the words of the prayer in the way he reads a book attentively; he must, as far as possible, banish thoughts and, with all his might, pay attention to Jesus, whom he calls upon, and to His mercy, which he asks for; sometimes, while praying, he must remain in silence for a little while, as if waiting for God's answer, striving to maintain his attention even in the event of distraction, and always remember that he has decided to remain in constant attention to the Lord in prayer, with his mind cleansed of thoughts.

The Third Key
The third key is the entrance into ourselves, or into the heart. We will not write about this at length with our own opinions, but we will present the descriptions and teachings of the Holy Fathers about going deep into oneself and entering into the heart by the means they tried, as reliable guides to true inner spiritual prayer. The very teachings of these holy fathers we will expound here in their own words, dividing them for ease into three parts and placing them in the following order:
The first part will be made up of the fathers who left us a complete teaching about the Jesus prayer , such as:
1) Symeon the New Theologian, 2) Gregory of Sinai, 3) Nicephorus the Monk, and 4) the monks Callistus and Ignatius of Xanthopoulos.

In the second part there will be the fathers who left us brief reflections on interior prayer, such as: 1) Hesychius of Sinai, 2) Philotheus of Sinai, 3) Metropolitan Theoliptus, and 4) Barsanuphius and John.

In the third part is the soul-beneficial story of Abba Philemon. This will remind us of the entire path of asceticism.

HIEROMONAK ARSENIY TROEPOLSKY